A Designed Experience for Everyone

A principle for ensuring a consistent and considered design for everyone.

Sounds simple

“Provide a designed experience for everyone.” Sounds simple. Surely this is what we already do. But do we?

We developed this principle as a way to ask better questions about our design work, which in turn improves the assumptions we make. Ultimately, better assumptions mean better decisions.

But let’s pull this principle apart, starting with the concept of a “designed experience.”

What we mean by designed experience

A designed experience means applying design intent to how something should be perceived or how it should work and operate. Delivering a designed experience implements that intent, meaning we’ve considered and created an intentional experience for our audience.

Crucially, design in this context covers the whole experience. Not just the visual aspects but the unseen bits too, such as the information flow, the language used, and any interactions we need to guide our users through.

What we mean by everyone

The second part of this principle mentions “everyone.” It’s important to define what we mean by everyone. Not all users will experience a website or app visually. A screen reader or other assistive technology user, such as a Braille reader, may primarily hear or feel the experience. We need to apply design intent to those experiences too. We shouldn’t build only for visual experience and leave the other experiences to chance.

By defining what we consider a designed experience to be upfront, we set the standard to which we will hold ourselves. And by defining who we believe is part of “everyone,” we identify who we seek to serve.

Taken together, they form an excellent starting point for creating inclusive products.